Are Athletic Trainers Support Staff?

Why Are Athletic Trainers Still Treated Like Support Staff?

We’re licensed, credentialed, and trained to evaluate, treat, and manage injuries and illness.

So why are we still often treated like “support staff”?

1. The Legacy Problem

Athletic training started inside athletics, not medicine.

For years, ATs worked under coaches, not directly with clinicians, and even though our education evolved, the perception didn’t always follow.

2. Reporting Lines That Don’t Match Our Scope

Many ATs still report to athletic directors instead of medical administrators.

If you’re supervised by the same department focused on wins and losses, it’s hard to be seen as an independent healthcare provider.

3. Employment Structures

Many ATs are employed by athletic departments, not the healthcare divisions. When your boss is a coach or AD, it blurs the line between healthcare provider and team support.

4. Reimbursement Gaps

Because we can’t directly bill insurance like PTs or OTs, institutions don’t see the revenue side of our care.

And when your value isn’t tied to reimbursement, you’re seen as a cost, not a clinician.

5. Public and Professional Awareness

Even within healthcare, there’s confusion about what we do. Trying to encompass all that we do causes mixed messaging and inconsistent terminology, which doesn't help. We unintentionally downplay our medical role when we sell that we can do it all.

6. The Culture of Sport

In competitive environments, performance often outweighs health.

That power dynamic keeps ATs in the shadows, even when we’re the ones protecting athletes from long-term harm.

If we want that to change, it starts with how we structure, speak, and show our value.

Athletic trainers are not “support staff.” We are front-line healthcare providers and the systems we work in should reflect that.

If athletic trainers want to change this narrative, it starts with structure, language, and advocacy.

Report through healthcare chains, not athletic departments.

Speak the language of healthcare.

Document, communicate, and assert your clinical value.